Mind Control, B.F. Skinner, and the Education Establishment
The following is all in a school
day's work when adhering to ESSA's behavioral College Ready and 21st
Century Learning Skills. (New names for Skinner's OBE, Management by
Objectives, Mastery Learning, Common Core, etc.)
May, 1972 issue (Vol. 3, No. 12) of The National Educator (Fullerton, CA). Recommendations
made in the top secret paper discussed in this article echo those mentioned in the April 6, 1971
Michigan Governor’s Advisory Council on Population paper. Excerpts follow:
A “Top Secret” paper from the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, now in the
hands of The National Educator, reveals a plan for total control of the people of the United
States through behavioral modification techniques of B.F. Skinner, the controversial behaviorist
author of Beyond Freedom and Dignity....
made in the top secret paper discussed in this article echo those mentioned in the April 6, 1971
Michigan Governor’s Advisory Council on Population paper. Excerpts follow:
A “Top Secret” paper from the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, now in the
hands of The National Educator, reveals a plan for total control of the people of the United
States through behavioral modification techniques of B.F. Skinner, the controversial behaviorist
author of Beyond Freedom and Dignity....
According to the “Dialogue Discussion Paper,” marked “Top Secret” across the bottom of
the cover page, a conference was held at the Center on January 17 through 19, 1972, at which
time a discussion on “The Social and Philosophical Implications of Behavior Modification”
was held. The paper in question is the one prepared [by] four individuals for presentation at
that conference entitled “Controlled Environment for Social Change.” The authors are Vitali
Rozynko, Kenneth Swift, Josephine Swift and Larney J. Boggs....
The second page of the paper carries the inscription, “To B.F. Skinner and James G.
Holland.”... Page 3 of the paper states that the “Top Secret” document was prepared on
December 31, 1971....
The authors of this tome are senior staff members of the Operant Behavior Modification
Project located at Mendocino State Hospital in California and the project is partially
supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse....
On page 5 of this blueprint for totalitarianism, the authors state that “we are presently
concerned with controlling upheavals and anarchic behavior associated with social change
and discontent.”... The authors go on to say that they believe an “Orwellian world” is more
likely under presently developing society than under the kind of rigorous controls of a society
envisioned by Skinner....
On page 6, the authors deplore the growing demands for “law and order,” stating that
the population is now more apt to support governmental repression than previously, in
response to “their own fears.”...
the population is now more apt to support governmental repression than previously, in
response to “their own fears.”...
They add that “with the rising population, depletion of natural resources, and the
increase of pollution, repressive measures may have to be used to guarantee survival of our
species. These measures may take the form of forced sterilization, greatly restricted uses of
energy and limits on population movement and living location.”...
Skinner, on the other hand, they allege—“advocates more sophisticated controls over
the population, since punishment (by the government) for the most part works only temporarily
and only while the punishing agent is present.”... (bolding added)
Iserbyt goes on to say:
On the other hand, the authors allege, operant conditioning (sensitivity training) and
other behavioral techniques can be used to control the population through “positive reinforcement."